Deputy PM Unveils U-League Plan to Elevate Thai Football
Deputy Prime Minister Yotsanant Wongsuwat met with former national team coach Kiatisak "Coach Sigur" Senamuang and the University Sports Committee of Thailand to discuss creating a systematic U-League that would bridge university football to the professional Thai League. The plan leverages existing university facilities and academic innovation, with private sector sponsorship, to turn campus fields into living labs for sports industry development. Officials say the pathway would distribute opportunities to regions and grow education, innovation, and Thai sports together.
On November 12, 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Yotsanant Wongsuwat disclosed progress in upgrading university football following a joint discussion with Kiatisak Senamuang, known as "Coach Sigur," and the University Sports Committee of Thailand (USCT).
Yotsanant stated that today he spoke with Coach Sigur and the USCT to brainstorm how to build upon existing foundations, both from university sports and the Chang U-Champions Cup model, which selects teams from regional to national levels, in order to expand toward establishing a systematic U-League. He views a key existing asset as the fact that every university has football facilities and knowledge from diverse academic disciplines. If space is opened for the private sector to provide matching support as sponsors caring for athletes, and universities leverage the potential of their faculties — including bringing university innovations to back their own teams — football fields will become more than just competition venues; they will turn into real-world laboratories that develop both human resources and the sports industry in tandem.
Yotsanant further remarked that once this pathway connects to the professional league system such as Thai League and the national team, to continuously propel athletes to professional levels, it will create a picture of distributing opportunities and prosperity down to the regions, enabling education, innovation, and Thai sports to grow side by side robustly.
For his part, Kiatisak expressed gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister Yotsanant for the honor of joining the discussion today, hoping his modest knowledge and ability can assist the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation's football development efforts.
